Novak Djokovic overcame a match point and stifling heat to beat world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) and win the Cincinnati Open in a heart-pounding thriller Sunday.
Djokovic collapsed on his back before tearing his shirt off after triumphing in the nearly four-hour contest to win his third title in Cincinnati and avenge his loss to Alcaraz in last month's Wimbledon final.
"This was one of the exciting matches I've ever played in any tournament," Djokovic, the winner of a men's-record 23 Grand Slam titles, said during the postmatch trophy presentation. "It felt like a Grand Slam."
With temperatures hovering near 90 degrees, the 36-year-old Djokovic survived the tournament's longest men's match since at least 1990 to become the oldest man to win the championship. Ken Rosewall was 35 when he won in 1970.
with his 95th tour-level title, the 36-year-old Djokovic became the oldest Cincinnati champion in the Open Era. A pivotal moment came when Djokovic bounced back after being broken while serving for the match at 5-4 in the decider. The World No. 2 stayed focussed, finishing the longest best-of-three final in ATP Tour history (since 1990) in a third-set tie-break.
“I was tight, no doubt about it,” Djokovic said. “When you're facing one of the best players in the world, one of the biggest tournaments in the world, of course you can't always feel completely free in your mind to do whatever you want to do, right?
The drama would continue when Djokovic missed an overhead for 5-5 and the players would ultimately arrive at another tiebreak, which Djokovic won on his fifth match point of the contest.
"It is going to be tough for me to talk right now but I tried to do my best," Alcaraz said.
"I want to congratulate Novak once again. It's amazing to play against you, share the court with you, learn from you. This match was really close but I learned a lot."
The win delivered Djokovic his 95th career title and 39th Masters 1000 crown.
The tournament was Djokovic's first on U.S. soil in two years after he was barred from entering the country because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
He will look to add a 24th Grand Slam trophy to his collection at the upcoming U.S. Open, which runs from Aug. 28-Sept. 10.
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